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Lyons: Mistake led to 4-day jail ordeal

Published: Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 9:10 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 9:10 p.m.

When she came out of her Lakewood Ranch home thinking her mother had arrived to take her shopping, Steffi Levin saw a Manatee sheriff’s deputy instead.

And then five or six more. They were looking for her.

“My house was pretty much surrounded,” said Levin, 47, who has a new master’s degree in health care administration, a son in elementary school and who was in the middle of a job hunt.

She had no idea why deputies would be there, but they said an arrest warrant had her name and address on it. They had almost no information about it, but it listed a battery charge that originated in Sarasota.

Partly at the request of Levin’s mother and father, who arrived within minutes — and as her young son worried and cried — the deputies waited for awhile and tried to get more information from Sarasota, to make sure they had the right person and to see if police there wanted to come and get Levin.

It turned out it was a clerical mistake, it seems.

Months previously, when she and her boyfriend split up, they argued heatedly and he told police she hit him in the face. But no arrest was made and when Sarasota police sent the report to the state attorney, prosecutors declined to file any charge.

Assistant State Attorney Hagen Brody says the investigating police officer, Adam Arena, was informed of that decision, in writing. But Arena had never sent prosecutors anything that said he had also initiated an arrest warrant, Brody told me.

No one at the police department cancelled that warrant, and prosecutors didn’t know it existed. And so, since Levin’s home is in Manatee County, sheriff’s deputies eventually served the warrant.

Happy ending, since the mistake was discovered?

No. As her son and her parents cried, Levin was hauled off to jail. The mistake wasn’t discovered until later, after she spent four days in jail in Manatee and then Sarasota.

“It was very humiliating,” and a totally miserable experience that included all the usual very personal indignities, Levin told me.

Arrested on Sunday, she was told that since there was no bond amount shown on the warrant information Manatee County had, she could not post bail until she went before a judge in Sarasota.

That could have happened the next morning, but it didn’t. It was Veterans Day. No transportation to Sarasota took place. And for whatever reason, it didn’t happen on Tuesday, either.

Though she had been arrested before, for DUI, this was different. Despite all the difficulties that DUI entailed, they included only one night in a holding cell, not days and nights living the jail lifestyle with no idea when it would end.

Finally taken to Sarasota on Day Four, Wednesday, she arrived too late for the first-appearance hearing that just might have gotten the mistake worked out.

Still, she was allowed to post bond late in the day — it cost just $100 — and she was released that night. An added going away gift: Her cell phone battery was dead and she had no way to call her parents for a ride. She had to walk to a pharmacy and beg to use a phone.

Days later that she received word that her case would not be prosecuted. She already had hired an attorney, for a mostly nonrefundable fee.

Her lawyer did do one thing for her: He told her it looked as if her whole ordeal had been based on a someone’s procedural error.

Levin isn’t seeking publicity now, by the way. I heard about this from her parents. She’s concerned about how it might affect her son when her arrest, which was so traumatic for him, becomes more common knowledge.

“It was very hard for him,” she said. Having your mom arrested by a team of deputies after they surround your house is not a common experience for kids in their Lakewood Ranch neighborhood.

On the other hand, maybe it will help if people know the arrest was a mistake.

Now we are to the part where I would like to quote someone from the police department explaining how the error happened and maybe expressing regret for the pain that resulted. But I’ve had just a few brief written responses from Sarasota Police spokeswoman Genevieve Judge.

She first thanked me for bringing the matter to their attention. She promised to get back to me with some information.

After hearing nothing that day, or the next, I asked again. Judge wrote back:

“Again, thanks for bringing this to our attention. Based on your information, the officer involved may not have followed established procedures. We take these matters very seriously.”

<p>When she came out of her Lakewood Ranch home thinking her mother had arrived to take her shopping, Steffi Levin saw a Manatee sheriff's deputy instead.</p><p>And then five or six more. They were looking for her.</p><p>“My house was pretty much surrounded,” said Levin, 47, who has a new master's degree in health care administration, a son in elementary school and who was in the middle of a job hunt.</p><p>She had no idea why deputies would be there, but they said an arrest warrant had her name and address on it. They had almost no information about it, but it listed a battery charge that originated in Sarasota.</p><p>Partly at the request of Levin's mother and father, who arrived within minutes — and as her young son worried and cried — the deputies waited for awhile and tried to get more information from Sarasota, to make sure they had the right person and to see if police there wanted to come and get Levin.</p><p>It turned out it was a clerical mistake, it seems.</p><p>Months previously, when she and her boyfriend split up, they argued heatedly and he told police she hit him in the face. But no arrest was made and when Sarasota police sent the report to the state attorney, prosecutors declined to file any charge.</p><p>Assistant State Attorney Hagen Brody says the investigating police officer, Adam Arena, was informed of that decision, in writing. But Arena had never sent prosecutors anything that said he had also initiated an arrest warrant, Brody told me.</p><p>No one at the police department cancelled that warrant, and prosecutors didn't know it existed. And so, since Levin's home is in Manatee County, sheriff's deputies eventually served the warrant.</p><p>Happy ending, since the mistake was discovered?</p><p>No. As her son and her parents cried, Levin was hauled off to jail. The mistake wasn't discovered until later, after she spent four days in jail in Manatee and then Sarasota.</p><p>“It was very humiliating,” and a totally miserable experience that included all the usual very personal indignities, Levin told me.</p><p>Arrested on Sunday, she was told that since there was no bond amount shown on the warrant information Manatee County had, she could not post bail until she went before a judge in Sarasota.</p><p>That could have happened the next morning, but it didn't. It was Veterans Day. No transportation to Sarasota took place. And for whatever reason, it didn't happen on Tuesday, either.</p><p>Though she had been arrested before, for DUI, this was different. Despite all the difficulties that DUI entailed, they included only one night in a holding cell, not days and nights living the jail lifestyle with no idea when it would end.</p><p>Finally taken to Sarasota on Day Four, Wednesday, she arrived too late for the first-appearance hearing that just might have gotten the mistake worked out.</p><p>Still, she was allowed to post bond late in the day — it cost just $100 — and she was released that night. An added going away gift: Her cell phone battery was dead and she had no way to call her parents for a ride. She had to walk to a pharmacy and beg to use a phone.</p><p>Days later that she received word that her case would not be prosecuted. She already had hired an attorney, for a mostly nonrefundable fee.</p><p>Her lawyer did do one thing for her: He told her it looked as if her whole ordeal had been based on a someone's procedural error.</p><p>Levin isn't seeking publicity now, by the way. I heard about this from her parents. She's concerned about how it might affect her son when her arrest, which was so traumatic for him, becomes more common knowledge.</p><p>“It was very hard for him,” she said. Having your mom arrested by a team of deputies after they surround your house is not a common experience for kids in their Lakewood Ranch neighborhood.</p><p>On the other hand, maybe it will help if people know the arrest was a mistake.</p><p>Now we are to the part where I would like to quote someone from the police department explaining how the error happened and maybe expressing regret for the pain that resulted. But I've had just a few brief written responses from Sarasota Police spokeswoman Genevieve Judge.</p><p>She first thanked me for bringing the matter to their attention. She promised to get back to me with some information.</p><p>After hearing nothing that day, or the next, I asked again. Judge wrote back:</p><p>“Again, thanks for bringing this to our attention. Based on your information, the officer involved may not have followed established procedures. We take these matters very seriously.”</p><p>She said the matter is being investigated now by Internal Affairs.</p>